The Sword Saint’s Second Life As a Fox Girl

2-45 Breakthrough

The empty vial slipped through her grip and shattered into splinters once it hit the dirt.

Erin felt her body begin to boil. The warmth within her began to rise. Her vision blurred, doubling every object she laid her eyes on. The grip on her sword was also slowly losing its strength. She waited for those words to come. She waited for those intense feelings to return. She waited for her long-suppressed nightmare to reawaken but… she waited for a while, she waited until the Grave Wyrm was only a dozen feet away from her. Yet, the one ability she had shunned all this while did not respond to her. 

“Fuck, did it fail?” she questioned. 

Even her hands began to tremble. 

“No… it wanted to come out but… something is holding it back...”

As she concentrated, she felt her unbridled lust surfacing but there seemed to be something pushing it back. This foreign power within her had been the reason her overwhelming lust had been dormant. Or rather, suppressed. Her death and the aphrodisiac potion she had just consumed had most likely weakened the foreign power.

“Just one more push… but first...”

The Grave Wyrm was charging right at her with its fangs bared.

She mustered all of the focus she could in her delicate state and raised her saber against the charging Grave Wyrm. It was futile defiance. Regardless of strategy or scheme, the level gap was simply too vast. No matter how refined or proficient Erin was with the sword, she could never win against the Grave Wyrm. 

Even so, Erin’s gaze never wavered in the face of despair. She threw lightning magic attacks at the Wyrm but it merely shrugged and continued its approach. The aphrodisiac she had consumed was misleading her instincts. Therefore, she couldn’t move properly. She could only stand her ground and receive the Grave Wyrm’s fatal assault.

“I guess there’s only one option now,” she convinced herself.

Erin closed her eyes, seemingly giving in to her fate.

The Grave Wyrm snapped its jaws shut with Erin in between without much trouble. It chewed on the delectable-smelling Fox-kin with delight. The flesh of a proper living being, untainted by the curse of The Singularity, was infinitely more savory than the monsters native to the basin. However, the Fox-kin was only delectable in the Wyrm’s mind. The flesh of a Fae wasn’t as delectable as the scent it gave off. It tasted blander than its usual prey. The Grave Wyrm spat out its half-eaten meal. The mangled corpse went tumbling across the dirt and withered grass.

Without giving another glance, the Grave Wyrm slithered away, in search of its next prey. The Grave Wyrm began turning its head around in frustration, searching for the right meal.

[Conditions met - Revenant activated]

[Experience lost -20% - Level Progression: 65%]

[User has entered desire famine state. Lust Deviant activated.]

[User’s ability stats increased by 200%]

The Grave Wyrm eventually gave up its search with a loud screech into the air. It had deemed this place to be empty of worthwhile prey. Just as the Grave Wyrm was about to tunnel back into the ground, it heard a bellow of laughter. Following the bellow, a bolt of lightning hit it square on the side of its head. It howled sharply in pain and quickly snapped its head in the direction where the bolt of lightning came from. But it found nothing. The corpse it had discarded half-eaten was nowhere to be found either. The Grave Wyrm wasn’t a very intelligent creature but it did have the basic sense of realizing when there’s a discrepancy in what was expected.

The Grave Wyrm scoured the area but it didn’t see the half-eaten Fox-kin anywhere. Then, a realization struck. It looked up into the trees, just as another bolt of lightning came for its face. It swiftly dodged the attack spell and spat its venom towards the point where it presumed the spell came from. But the venom melted only branches and leaves. Learning from its mistakes, the Grave Wyrm turned its gaze to the branches directly above it, where he found a wide-smiling Fox-kin waiting for it. Aside from the Fox-kin’s torn apparel, she was as good as new.

“Pity that you spat me out.” Erin sneered. “But it’s good that you did, otherwise I would have carved myself out of you” She hopped from the branch and threw a wave of Aura Shot.

The Grave Wyrm countered with its venom spit but contrary to its expectation, Erin’s Aura Shot lasted long enough to end in a draw with the Wyrm’s venom spit. The Grave Wyrm resorted to physical means and launched itself at Erin by using its whole body as a spring.

Erin grinned and curled herself with her tails. She focused all of her Arcane Armor on her tails alone. She infused lightning into the Arcane Armor that covered her tails. 

As the Grave Wyrm took a huge bite, it immediately recoiled away. With its level, no doubt its bite could destroy the Arcane Armor but it would take some time. Furthermore, the tails were infused with lightning. A lot of damage could be done to it if it insisted on chomping down Erin. This was why the Grave Wyrm immediately flinched in a dramatic fashion at the first taste. Nevertheless, the lightning had caused quite a bit of damage to the interior of its mouth. It flailed around to assuage its pain.

Erin’s grin widened at the opportunity. She threw herself at the flailing Wyrm. There were so many ways this could go wrong but in her current state, as long as she came out breathing in the end and the enemy hurt greatly, nothing else mattered. The starvation Erin was facing wasn’t limited to carnal. Lust comes in many forms. It was just that Erin’s carnal desire was the strongest at those moments. Right now, her strongest desire was to break through The Singularity. Responding to this desire, the lust that currently governed her was battle lust.

Erin drew a long and deep cut across the Grave Wyrm’s body as she fell through the air. There was no blood. Only gray smoke oozed out. The anomaly bothered Erin not a single bit. At present, she herself was in an anomalous state.

The Grave Wyrm endured its pain and retaliated. It thrashed about violently, in hopes of getting the absurdly agile Fox-kin. Erin was small to the colossal Grave Wyrm. It had speed and strength as its advantage but its size offset those two advantages. The Grave Wyrm would be triumphant in a freerun against Erin but in the aspects of agility, it couldn’t even begin to compete. The Fox-kin, enthralled by her strongest desire, cast aside all shame and honor. Every move was made at the beckon of her instincts.

The Grave Wyrm threw itself into the trees. It rolled over the ground, grazing its skin against the rough surface. It even slammed itself against the solid ground, all in hopes of getting rid of the Fox-kin who was leaving cuts everywhere she trod. Erin did not spend a moment stationary. She persisted with her erratic positioning but it was only erratic in the eyes of her opponent. She might not be completely sound at the moment but her instincts were sharp and astute. The Grave Wyrm could not discern properly on where to strike the always-moving Erin. Even in its thrashing, Erin wasn’t caught in its desperation and tantrum.

In spite of the upper hand Erin had in this fight, she could not land the killing blow. She didn’t have the means to. Her survival instinct forbade her from using Mystic Blade. The Grave Wyrm was simply too large in size to receive a decisive strike but Erin didn’t need a decisive strike. The cuts she made would eventually accumulate into lethal wounds. The Grave Wyrm came to the same realization. The Fox-kin was no longer its prey. Their role was flipped. The Grave Wyrm accepted the new reality begrudgingly.  It could only run.

The Grave Wyrm burrowed back into the ground and Erin was forced to retreat from its body.

“Running away…?” Erin groaned. “Like hell I would let you!” she shouted and pursued the Grave Wyrm. Her ears could perfectly tell where the Wyrm was heading to, into the basin, back to its habitat. It coincided with Erin’s goal and she had no qualms about following it.

Erin chased it down. In her pursuit, she met a new kind of monster. It was humanoid but slim to the bones. Its frontal limbs were longer than its hind legs. Its skin was chalky white and the head was bald, and not a single fur could be found on the strange creature’s body. Its ears were carved into the sides of its head. The eyes were a complete pitch black and a pair of fangs were visible even if it had its mouth closed. Pale Stalker was the name Erin’s Appraisal gave.

The Pale Stalker was as its name suggested, it stalks its prey. But of course, Erin, especially in her current state, nothing escaped her perception once they were within a certain distance away from her. The absurdity was that the Pale Stalker seemed to have the ability to conceal its presence. It was perched high above on top of a tree branch in front of Erin. Even so, she failed to see the creature with her eyes. It was only the heavy pungent smell that made her aware of the Pale Stalker’s presence, the intense smell of blood. Its body was smeared with blood. The contrasting appearance of its chalk-white skin and deep crimson blood was enough to send fear into the hearts of most people. Fortunately, Erin wasn’t “most people”.

Even in her devious state, Erin could still read. She stopped her pursuit of the Grave Wyrm as she read the information given by Appraisal on the Pale Stalker. It had a peculiar ability known as; Aura Shot: Claws, and the Pale Stalker appeared to have a heightened regenerative factor. The description from Appraisal focused heavily on its agility and how many were slaughtered for underestimating its agility. In a way, the Pale Stalker was even more dangerous than the Grave Wyrm despite being only level twenty-five.

“Interesting… perhaps you’ll give me more joy?” Her legs squirmed slightly in anticipation.

Erin decided to strike first. With a single jump, she reached the height of the branch where the Pale Stalker was lying in wait. The palish creature had a dumbfounded look when it realized it was discovered but it reacted appropriately. Erin sliced at it but took only its left arm. The Pale Stalker had leaped to another branch. The arm Erin felled perished into dust and a new arm quickly regrew on the Pale Stalker. It sneered at Erin.

Erin wasn’t in her usual composed state and she fell for the taunt. The Pale Stalker swung its arm, throwing two waves of Aura Shot from its claws. Erin threw her own Aura Shot but the Pale Stalker’s won. Erin was knocked back. She stabbed her sword into a tree trunk and flipped herself up on the sword, using it as a foothold. 

The Pale Stalker lunged at this moment. It threw Aura Shots to cut off the Fox-kin’s escape routes. Its claws bared against her but an ethereal shield stood in its way. It was Erin’s Arcane Aegis. It didn’t hold the Pale Stalker off for long but enough for Erin to execute a daring move. With lightning infused to her own hand, she plunged her crackling hand through the aegis and into the chest of the Pale Stalker. 

Erin bellowed in laughter as she sent surges of lightning into Pale Stalker with Lightning Infusion. The Pale Stalker struggled to get itself away but Erin tugged it back by its arm. The two were both suffering the same manner of damage but the Pale Stalker was suffering it from its innards. Erin had her Arcane Armor to withstand lightning as long as possible. The sharper the agonizing cry of the Pale Stalker was, the louder Erin’s laughter was. Palish blood trickled down from the creature’s orifices, smoke oozed out along. Eventually, the Pale Stalker exploded into pieces from the overload of the lightning surge.

[Experience gained +15% - Level Progression: 80%]

Erin clicked her tongue at the meagre amount of experience she received. The Pale Stalker was tough but its level was low in comparison with the monsters in the area. Nevertheless, a smile adorned her face once again when she heard numerous sounds approaching her. Her right hand was charred from her reckless move but the pain only further invigorated her. Her heart throbbed in anticipation at the incoming monsters. 

“Three Wulvers,” Erin surmised through the gaits. As a matter of fact, it was the three Wulvers who had run away when the Pallid Serk attacked. They were coming back for her and Erin was more than welcome.

The first Wulver emerged from the bushes. Heavy wounds riddled its body. It had been participating in a fight somewhere else but that only worked in Erin's favor. It pounced, intending to suppress Erin’s movement with its weight.

“Hoh? Learning now, are we?” Erin sniggered. Instead of the Wulver, she fired a bolt of lightning at the tree beside it. The tree fell in between the first Wulver and the second and third, giving Erin enough time to finish the first one off. Erin parried the Wulver’s slash with her Arcane Armor-clad tails and neatly lopped the Wulver’s head off with a graceful spin. 

[Experience gained +15% - Level Progression: 95%]

Erin clicked her tongue at the reduced experience she received.

The two Wulvers found their way over the fallen tree but they were much too late in assisting their kin. Erin took the remaining two Wulvers head-on. As she fought sword to claws with the Wolf-like beasts, she gathered magic into the blade of her saber. The two Wulvers noticed it but the two were none the wiser of Erin’s plan. 

The Wulvers were ferocious in their attacks but they just could not get past Erin’s defense. She had forgone her body’s defense and focused all of her  Arcane Armor on her tails. That way, she could attack with her and defend with her tails. If the Wulvers attacked from both sides, she simply wrapped herself in her tails. 

[Warning: Magic Vigour threshold is under 25%]

At that notification, Erin spun with all her might and poise, bringing her sword into a full circle arc. She unleashed the magic she had gathered into her blade. Essentially, it was just Aura Shot but it was charge magic and she released as her sword was swinging in a full circle. A circular magic aura radiated from Erin, felling everything around her, including the two Wulvers. 

[Experience gained +50% - Level Progression: 145%]

[Erinthea: Level 19 increased to Level 20]

[Skill Points gained +2]

[Ability Points gained +2]

[Level Progression: 45%]

“Finally… it’s here,” Erin muttered to herself in reverie. The biding sensation she had been unconsciously feeling all this while. A dam filled to the brim, on the verge of bursting apart with rushing waters.

[Evolution conditions met - Commence evolution: Yes / No ?]

To those words in her mind, Erin’s grin widened. “Why yes, of course.”

Erinthea - Faerie-kin: Three-Tailed Fox-kin

Level: 20 | Status: Moderate Exhaustion Desire Famine: Lust Deviant, Evolving

Might: 20 (40) | Arcane: 27 (54) | Finesse: 24 (48)

Magic Arts
Spirit Magic Lv. 8 | Arcane Edge Lv. 5 | Arcane Armor Lv. 10 | Lightning Magic Lv. 4 | Arcane Aegis Lv. 2

Combat Arts
Sword Art Lv. 7 | Fleet Foot Lv. 5 | Brawler Lv. 5

Innate Skills
Appraisal Lv. Ex | Night Vision Lv. Ex | Sixth Sense Lv. Ex | Toxin Resistance Lv. 2 | Lust Deviant Lv. Ex

Unique Talent
Mystic Blade Lv. Ex | Revenant Lv. Ex

Level Progression: 45%

Remaining Skill Points: 4

Remaining Ability Points: 4